NO LONGER ENCUMBERED BY ANY SENSE OF FAIR PLAY, EX-JOURNALISTS RETURN TO ACTIVE DUTY TO FIGHT THE TRUMPIAN MENACE!

Living in a rogue state

They say there’s nothing new under the sun, and I guess that’s true after I discovered that what I had believed to be an original thought — namely that the United States of America is a rogue state — had actually been put forth long ago by one of the world’s great thinkers, Noam Chomsky.

True, I haven’t read Chomsky’s book, “Rogue States,” which was written long before the 45th president ever came to power, but let’s take a look at how the United States fares when measured against generally accepted criteria for defining a rogue state. It goes without saying that my own musings will be far less eloquent and high-minded than Chomsky’s, but when has that ever stopped me?

Definition of a rogue state

1) Ruled by an authoritarian regime

Hard to argue that Donald Trump and a Republican-dominated Congress haven’t lowered the bar when it comes to undermining this nation’s system of checks and balances, or attempting to discredit the Fourth Estate. The press in America has long been charged with keeping a tight rein on politicians of any stripe, but Trump has shown contempt for the First Amendment with his unceasing “fake news” attacks, which have further eroded the confidence of an American electorate already disinclined to read anything about anything. Meanwhile, Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey was a clear obstruction of justice and a small-fingered poke in the eye to the Rule of Law. And let’s not forget that Republicans’ extreme gerrymandering of congressional districts and voter-suppression measures are naked attempts at retaining power. Taken together, the activities of Trump and his Republican cohorts certainly have all the earmarks of an authoritarian regime.

2) Restrict human rights

Where to begin? Trump has demonized everyone in melting-pot America who doesn’t have a white skin. His racist-fueled border wall set the standard, but he quickly doubled down with his Muslim-hating travel ban, which thankfully has not been upheld by any court, though he’ll try again in the Supreme Court with Neil Gorsuch as its newly installed right-wing stooge. Meanwhile, Trump’s choice for a vice-president — the infamous Mike Pence — is a God-squadder who thinks gay couples in America are a sign of “societal collapse,” and who supports “conversion therapy” while opposing laws that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace. And how about health care? Millions of Americans — most notably those dolts who voted for Trump in the first place — will wave bye-bye to their health insurance under a new Trump/Republican plan, which at least no one will be able to say was authored by a black man.

3) Sponsor terrorism

This one’s a little tougher, but it’s undeniable that innocent men, women and children are being killed in the Middle East as the U.S. attempts to root out real terrorists from their midst. Sadly, we can’t even blame it all on Trump, as American foreign policy has been winning “friends” in this way for decades. Closer to home, Trump won the endorsement of the biggest domestic terrorist organization the world has ever known — the National Rifle Association. NRA-sponsored lobbying has put assault weapons within easy reach of every Joe Sixpack in America, and fueled so much domestic gun violence and killing that it’s nothing less than a wet dream for the stereotypical turban-wearing ISIS terrorist. Sensible gun laws in the wake of the Newtown massacre were thwarted by the NRA and its bought-and-paid-for Republicans, including Trump. Gunz, mor gunz is their battle cry, and it all adds up to domestic terrorism for the majority of Americans who favor common sense limits on the arsenals carried around freely by predominantly white American maniacs.

4) Proliferate weapons of mass destruction

Let’s face it, the United States has peddled weapons of mass destruction around the globe for decades, but if you want a recent example, look no further than Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s brokering of a $110billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia, itself a regime that suppresses human rights and is thought to have actually bankrolled the September 11 attack on America. When it comes to raw killing power, the United States already “trumps” everybody, but with his emphasis on more defense spending, Donald says we got a lot more killin’ to do!

Yes, Trump wants to make America Great Again, and there’s a buttload of red-hatted morons out there who are sopping up his nationalistic blather like cream gravy on a biscuit. But when you consider that the United States of America was already a rogue state long before 45 took over, it has me wondering just how much more greatness the rest of us can take.